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Classical Kaltek
Classical Kaltek was a language spoken in the Kaltek river area, it was spoken in about 4000 BK. The word "Kaltek" means "Big river" in the Kaltek language. Classical Kaltek is one of the first written languages in Teles, Kaltek logogram was the script used to write Classical Kaltek and is thought to be the basis of the Uraki logogram and the Highland Taic logogram. Ydtobogȧndeki, Ular script and the Kaltek logogram are the first writing systems of Teles, all other scripts of Teles are thought to be derived from either Ydtobogȧndeki or the Kaltek logogramwhether the Ular script was invented independently or was inspired by Ydtobogȧndeki is still a subject of debate.. Phonology Classical Kaltek had no voicing distinction, but had glottalized consonants(implosive for bilabial, ejective for other places of articulation) which became voiced consonants in later forms of the Kaltek language. Classical Kaltek had five vowels with length distinction, which was greatly reduced in later forms of the Kaltek language. The syllable structure of Classical Kaltek was ©V©, initial and final clusters are prohibited, and between two vowels, there can be at most two vowels. Transcription * A - /a/ * AA - /a:/ * B' - /ɓ/ * CH - /tʃ/ * CH' - /tʃ'/ * E - /e/ * EE - /e:/ * I - /i/ * II - /i:/ * J - /h~χ/ * K - /k/ * K' - /k'/ * L - /l/ * M - /m/ * N - /n/ * NG - /ŋ/ * O - /o/ * OO - /o:/ * P - /p/ * R - /r/ * S - /s/ * T - /t/ * T' - /t'/ * TZ - /ts/ * TZ' - /ts'/ * U - /u/ * UU - /u:/ * W - /w/ * X - /ʃ/ * Y - /j/ * ' - /ʔ/ Grammar Syntax Word Order The basic word order of Classical Kaltek was VSO or SVO. Adpositions are prepositions. Relative clauses follow the noun they modify; numerals precede the noun they modify; adjectives can precede or follow the nouns they modify, but there's a tendency to place the adjective before the noun, and postnominal adjectives, or adjectives follow the nouns they modify, are usually used to emphasize. Compound Words In compound words, usually the first component is the head. Nouns Nouns don't decline according to gender or case, and only animate nouns have plural forms, and the use of plural forms is not obliged. Nouns can be used as predicatives, indicating the meaning "to be N", and the intransitive prefix is used in this case: * t'an ii - 0-t'an ii - 3.SG.PRES-tree this - this is a tree. * nitituchib' - n-ti-tuchib' - NEG-2.SG.PRES-bird - you are not a bird. Possession the possessor of a noun can be indicated by using possession prefixes. possessive prefix: * 1.sg: ana-(stem) * 2.sg: pu-(stem) * 3.sg: i-(stem) * 1.pl: eni-(stem) * 2.pl: pi-(stem) * 3.pl: xi-(stem) * 3.indef: a-(stem) Examples: * ana-pap - my father * pu-pap - your father * i-pap - his/her father * eni-pap - our father * pi-pap - your father * xi-pap - their father * a-pap - someone's father It is obliged to use possessive prefixes for nouns indicating kinship terms and body parts, for example, to talk about a child in Classical Kaltek, one must say something like a-ket "someone's child/children" or i-ket "his/her children", it is ungrammatical to use the nominal stem alone, that means it is ungrammatical to say something like *''ket'' when one tries to talk about a child in Classical Kaltek; similarly, one must say something like a-yam "someone's hand" or i-yam "his/her hand" and cannot say something like *''yam'', even the hand has been severed from its owner, it is still the case. Verbs Verbs agree with subject and object, also verbs have the distinction between perfective forms and imperfective forms, some verbs also have the distinction between concrete forms and abstract forms and the distinction between singular forms and plural forms. Agreements Class I prefix(absolutive prefix): present/transitive: * 1.sg: m(i)-(stem) * 2.sg: t(i)-(stem) * 3.sg*: (stem)(also the infinitive form of the verb) * 1.pl: n(e)-(stem)-i(with the sound change a>e, o>e, u>i) * 2.pl: s(e)-(stem)-i(with the sound change a>e, o>e, u>i) * 3.pl*: (stem)-i(with the sound change a>e, o>e, u>i) past: * 1.sg: me-(stem) * 2.sg: te-(stem) * 3.sg: a-(stem) * 1.pl: nee-(stem)-i(with the sound change a>e, o>e, u>i) * 2.pl: see-(stem)-i(with the sound change a>e, o>e, u>i) * 3.pl: e-(stem)-i(with the sound change a>e, o>e, u>i) * Note: in the forms marked with an asterisk (*), an epenthetic vowel might be used to break initial consonant clusters. Class II prefix(ergative prefix): present: * 1.sg: ana-(stem)/wana-(stem) * 2.sg: pu-(stem) * 3.sg: (stem) * 1.pl: eni-(stem) * 2.pl: pi-(stem) * 3.pl: xi-(stem) * reflexive: na-(stem) past: * 1.sg: anaa-(stem)/wanaa-(stem) * 2.sg: po-(stem) * 3.sg: a-(stem) * 1.pl: ene-(stem) * 2.pl: pe-(stem) * 3.pl: se-(stem) * reflexive: naa-(stem) Class I prefixes are used in the following situation: * when the verb is intransitive or in passive or in antipassive voice. * when the verb is transitive and is not in passive or antipassive voice, but the agent of the verb is third person singular. Class II prefixes are used in the following situation: * when the verb is transitive and is not in passive or in antipassive voice, and the agent of the verb is not third person singular. Voices * Passive: -aj/-j * Antipassive: -e/-ye * Applicative(benefactive): -tzo * Applicative(locative): -i'/-'i' * Applicative(instrumental): -ma Other affixes * Negation: n-/ni-(added in front of the agreements) * Causative: ya-(e.g. jir "he/she/it eats something", ya-jir "he/she/it feeds something to someone"; chix "it is small", ya-chix "he/she/it makes it small") * Directional(come to do...): mu-(e.g. jir "he/she/it eats something", mu-jir "he/she/it comes to eat") * Dynamic for adjective(to become...): tzu-(e.g. chix "it is small", tzu-chix "he/she/it shirnks(intransitive)") * Characteristic form for adjectives: ma-(the root form of an adjective usually expresses the current state, the form with the ma- prefix usually expresses the property of something. e.g. chix "it is small(as the current state)", ma-chix "it is small(as the characteristic)") Imperfective verbs and perfective verbs Like Slavic languages, Classical Kaltek has different verbal roots for imperfective verbs and perfective verbs, and the usage of Imperfective forms and perfective forms of verbs are also similar to that of Slavic languages. All abstract verbs and stative verbs, including adjectives, are imperfective verbs. Example: Imperfective: * anajir - ana-jir - 1.SG.A.PRES-eat.IPFV - I eat * anaajir - anaa-jir - 1.SG.A.PRET-eat.IPFV - I was eating Perfective: * anatzir - ana-tzir - 1.SG.A.PRES-eat.PFV - I will eat * anaatzir - anaa-tzir - 1.SG.A.PERT-eat.PFV - I ate Concrete verbs and Abstract verbs Like Slavic languages, there are Concrete verbs and Abstract verbs in Classical Kaltek for verbs indicating motion. Verbs whose motion is unidirectional or whose action is not repetitive are Concrete verbs; while verbs whose motion is multidirectional or whose action is repeated are Abstract verbs. Abstract verbs are always imperfective; while there are imperfective and perfective forms for Concrete verbs. Singular verbs and Plural verbs Pluractionality also exists in Classical Kaltek, verbs that have the distinction of pluractionality are called countable verbs. Countable verbs in Classical Kaltek have plural forms, some of them are suppletive, but most of them are formed by using the suffix -ex/-jex/-rex. Like the "count verb"s Ainu language, countable verbs is a closed class in Classical Kaltek, only certain verbs have plural forms. Words Pronouns Personal pronouns: * 1.SG: mi * 2.SG: ti * 3.SG: ** this(as pronoun): ii ** that(as pronoun): tee * 1.PL: ne * 2.PL: se * 3.PL: ya Demonstratives: * the(definite article): ta(also used as the relativizer) * here: an * there: tzan * this(as demonstrative): ta (noun) an * that(as demonstrative): ta (noun) tzan Interrogatives: * who?: tzu' * what?: tzo' * where?: tz'an * when?: te' chi' * how?: chi' * which?: tichi' * why?: tz'ee Prepositions * at: mu * to: na * of/from/because/than(used in comparison): ko * for: tzoo ko * through: tu/tzu * with(tool): ma * with(accompany)/and: su Numerals * one: an * two: ruj * three: tee * four: teruj * five: k'an(also means "palm") * six: k'an an * seven: k'an ruj * eight: k'an tee * nine: k'an teruj * ten: maruj * twenty: ya'mee * thirty: tee maruj * forty: terus maruj * fifty: k'an maruj * sixty: k'an an maruj * seventy: k'an rus maruj * eighty: k'an tee maruj * ninety: k'an terus maruj * one hundred: lamaruj(